Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 8, 1994 TAG: 9404080108
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
Delayed departure from the parental hearth reverses a trend of younger and younger independence that had been under way since the 1920s, according to the report by the independent Population Reference Bureau, which uses data from several earlier studies.
The 1990 census, for example, found that 21 percent of all 25-year-olds living in households were living with their parents, up from 15 percent in 1970.
"Leaving home has always been considered a transition to adulthood, but both the ages and reasons young people move out are changing," report sociologists Frances and Calvin Goldschneider of Brown University.
Traditionally, young people leave home "to get married, to get a job, to go to college or join the military," they said.
But today's young adults "came of age during recessions, tight job market, slow wage growth and soaring housing costs . . . and amid the confusion of roles and behavior created by the gender revolution."
In short, today's twentysomethings "have been having a difficult time with their transitions to adulthood," and they find no "calling" to leave home.
At the same time, young people benefit from a stronger safety net from parents with steady incomes.
However, parents who left home at a younger age may be less understanding of young adults' continued need to be dependent, they note.
by CNB